William  golcher



Patentedv March 30, v1869*.

tant @anni i @tij WILL-IAM' GoLcHER, Aor sT. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

Letters Patent No. 88,470, :lated Mci/rch 30,1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS The Schedulerefen-ed to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

Tofall 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GOLCHER, of Stlaul, in the county of Ramsey, andState of Minnesota, have invented a new and improved Breech-Loading Fire- Arm; and I do hereby declare that the following is a` full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section.l

Figure 2 isa similar section.

' This invention is an improvement upon those guns in which, by moving a single lever, the breech oi' the barrel is thrown upthe gun cocked, and held in that position, andthe old cartridge-shell retracted, while, by returning .the lever to its original position, the barrel is brought down to its proper position for tiring, and the gun is left cocked, and ready to be instantly discharged. The whole apparatus is exceedingly simple, cheap, and not liable to get ont of order.

In the drawings- A represents the barrel, pivoted, at a; to B, the stock.

G is the hammer;

D, the trigger;

E, themain-spring;

F, the trigger-spring; and

G, a lever, which, when closed upward against the stock, forms a guard, to protect the trigger, and, at the same time, holds the breech of the barrel down upon the stock, as shown in iig. 1, and, when opened downward from the stock, raises the breech ofthe barrel, cocksthe gun, and retracts the cartridge, as seen in iig. 2.

The single lever G is enabled to accomplish the various results by the following-described means:

In the first place, it cocks the gun by the operation of an arm, H, pivoted to it above and forward of its own fulcrum, and operating against a notch in the front edge of the hammer, above the pivot of the latter, as seen at c.

In'the second place, it throws up the rear end of the gun-barrel by the operation of a short arm, I, hinged at its upper endv to the unde'r side oi' the barrel, and, at its lower end, to. the lever G, a short distance in front of its fulcrum g, and operating,'in connection with the large level-,in raising the barrel, smewhat in the manner of a toggle-joint.

In the third place, the extreme forward end of the lever, G, when the latter is thrown out, as seen in fig. 2, strikes againstthe forward end of a sliding cartridgeshell retractor, J, andforces it bac-k toward the breech, throwing out the old shell, as seen in the last-mentioned drawing.

A spring, M, causes the retractor to resume its place whenever the end of the lever is removed from it. rlhe retraetor is simply a sliding metallic plate, workingin a guide-groove, or between lugs on the under side of thefgun-barrel, and provided with a tooth, or spur, c', which operates against the rim of the cartridge-hezul, as seen in both drawings. The arm I works through a slot in the retiactor, and is pivoted in a slot, or between the forked extremities of the lever Gr, so that both the lever G and the arm'I can, at the same time,

`in fig. 1.

occupy a vertical position, as seen in iig. 2, without interfering with each other.

The retraetor may be provided with a projection, i',

for the lever G to operate against, if preferred.

` K is a spur, which holds' the lever G firmly in place when the'latter is closed against the stock, as shown It will be observed, that as long as the lever G is thrown out, as seen in iig. 2, it holds the arm H against the hammer, and prevents the latter from falling, even should the trigger be accidentally pulled.

The whole device is exceedingly simple, requiring but little expense in construction, and, from its simplicity, n'ot being liable to get out of order. It does not in any manner change the outside appearance of the gun, nor prevent its being construetedfin every respect, as substantially as ever before. By its use, the gun can be iired with the greatest rapidity, the only operation necessary for loading being the forward and backwardmovement of the lever G, and the placing of the new .cartridge in the bore.

I am aware that LettersPatent have been granted to L. Sturtevant for a gun, in which the barrel is thrown up, the hammer thrown back, and the cartridgeshell retracted, by a single movement of a lever corresponding to the lever G above described. In his gun, however, the hammer is provided with a long, rigid arm, which extends forward, and rests upon the lever G, and the latterraises and lowers the breech of the barrels, and throws back the retraetor by the operation ot' pins attached to the lever, and running in a grooved plate, attached to the barrel, until they or the lever strike against a pivoted catch, or hook, held in place by a spring. This device'is quite complicated, audfseveral ofthe parts, including the pins ruiming in the camgroove, and the pivoted hook and spring, against which the lever strikes, are necessarily slender, weak, and liable to get out of order, while, in, my gun, the parts that operate together, to produce the same results, are strong, not at all liable to getout of order, and notJso complicated in' construction.

I do not clainithe arrangement and combination ofA the parts shown in Sturtevants ,"gun; but

What I do claim, and desire" to secure by'Letters Patent, s

The combination of the lever G, barrel A, cartridgeretractor J, spring M, and hammer C, with the lever I, pivoted, at its upper end, to the barrel, and, at its lower end, to the lever G, in front of the fulcruni of the latter, and with the arm H, pivoted, at its forward end, to

the lever G, above said i'ulcrum, when the forward end of the lever G is bifnrcated, so as to pass over lever I, in raising the barrels, and is provided with a point which strikes the retractor, and operates it; all said parts being constructed and operating together, in the manner and for the, purpose described.

To the above specitication of my improvement, I have signed my hand, this 24th day of March, 1868.

WM. GOLCHER.

Witnesses:

GaAs. A. Pn'rrrr, GEO. W. Rocrnwnnn. 

